The present invention relates to a method and system for sterilization of the soil for growing Korean ginseng by using an electron beam and is an improved growing system for Korean ginseng. More particularly, first inorganic matter including iron (Fe) and aluminum (Al) is removed from the soil for growing Korean ginseng through the method and system, and then electron beam is applied to the soil by the electron beam irradiator, to sterilize diverse harmful fungi in it. Ginseng beds are built with the sterilized soil in a ginseng field. The present invention allows mass production of organically grown Korean ginseng.
The sterilized soil can be also filled in a rectangular box called ginseng-field-module instead of a ginseng bed. A ginseng field can be constructed with these ginseng-field-modules in a straight line or in multi-layer form considering geographical condition in the shade of solar cell panel in a solar cell yard or in the shade of artificial device.
These modules bring new opportunity that Korean ginseng can be cultivated in a same condition without influence from climatic changes.
As is well known, ginseng, in particular, Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer), is a special crop that is widely grown in Korea as a medicinal plant. Generally, Korean ginseng is harvested four to six years after it is planted.
In terms of medicinal effects and price, six-year-old Korean ginseng is far better than its counterparts of other ages. Thus, it is desirable to harvest Korean ginseng after grown for six years. In many cases, however, Korean ginseng has to be harvested before it becomes six years old, usually, when it is four years old, due to various fungi (such as cylindrocarpon destructans, fusarium solani, erwinia carotovora and pseudomonas fluorescens) which are created and parasitized as it grows.
In addition, these harmful fungi still reside in the soil of a ginseng field even after ginseng is harvested. Therefore, the ginseng field cannot be reused to grow ginseng continuously and repeatedly.
For these reasons, the soil of the ginseng field must be fumigated before Korean ginseng is repeatedly planted, or crops must be rotated on the soil for ten years. However, in the case of fumigation, since ammonia-based nitrogen is created as chloropicrin decomposes in the soil, the nitrogen content of the soil is increased, which is highly likely to cause physiological disorders in ginseng. In the case of crop rotation, the land where Korean ginseng can be cultivated is limited. In particular, when Korean ginseng is planted in a paddy field, chemical fertilizers left in the paddy field can cause rusty root of ginseng. Thus, ryes can be planted in the paddy field to absorb inorganic nutrients remaining in the paddy field before planting ginseng.
Furthermore, it is very difficult to prevent the roots of Korean ginseng from rotting due to fungi (especially cylindrocarpon destructans) or to early detect the rotting of the roots. Accordingly, it is not easy to produce high-quality six-year-old Korean ginseng. Even if six-year-old Korean ginseng is successfully produced from a ginseng field, the ginseng field cannot be reused to continuously grow Korean ginseng due to fungi that exist in the soil of the ginseng field.
Photosynthesis of ginseng stops over 28° C. due to its physiological characteristics.
Therefore a sun shading equipment is required to block sunlight up to 88% and to maintain an optimal temperature of ginseng field between 20 to 27° C. in summer.
Such a sun shading equipment causes raise of maintenance costs, so that it weakens the competitiveness of Korean ginseng cultivation.
Especially when we consider the serious climate changes of the Earth, it is anticipated that we will encounter more difficulty in ginseng cultivation and severe damage caused by global warming.
Besides, if we continuously use a traditional method of ginseng cultivation, it is difficult to produce uniform high-quality ginseng in large quantities, by reason that the method is based on manual work and traditional sun shading equipment is far from automating. Due to lack of technology such as a sun shading equipment for automating system of ginseng cultivation, we only can depend on practical experience.
Actually it is impossible to automate ginseng field because of sun shading equipment' structure and its small space.
And until now there has been also no research to automate such a ginseng field or to use a shade space made at the back side of solar cell panel in a solar cell yard.